Can opener



Feb. 22, 1949. A. E. NELSON CAN OPENER Filed June 25, 1945 Patented Feb. 22, 1949 sieges s i-.J'Nl TED TATfELS FATN T SrvQ-fl'fi'fl'C E LCA'N OPENER Arthur Nelson, UniversityCty,.-Mo.

-Application :Iune"23, 1945,Seial'iN0. 601,263

The .presentLinventionlrelatesto a can opener. More iparticularly, .'.it :relates Lto :a driving; means used for .the feed :mechanism and .the cutter mechanism in `a .can opener.

'llt lis `an object .of the vinvention :to provide such a .feeci means Aand :cutter imeans, which are both power driven, .from .a common shaft Withegearing 1b etween. them, .together :with Pmeans to .insure 'thatithegears will. alwayslreadily :mesh and that i the ".feed will always operate :smoothly, regardless :of possible slight .lirregularities in fthe gear or. of 'obstructions IIto l.their fproper imesh.

Moreparticularly, itis anlobject of .thefinvention 'to :provide r in fa can opener, a if eed :wheel :on av shaft `and af cutter f-wheel. on. afshaft, with gearing adapted to :be meshed to .cause the two shafts .'to .rotate together, .'andfmeans Lto aecommodatel for. slightrobstruotionsltoithefproperxmesh of fthe `gears,. and fmeans to .provide .slight f relativerotationfof the two shafts necessary:tolget the gears .in imesh `when they fotherwise are `disposed outof .meshing positions.

91nvthe. drawings;

lFig. .l is a "side `elevation .of a .canopener yern- `bodying lthe ipresent invention, shown :inlopen position;

:Fig i2 `is Aa Vsimilar .side elevation .of l a ican opener r showing it Linienga'gement on -a can;

`Fig. 13 is a 'vertical .section lthrough Athe .can opener, taken ='on'fthe31ine3-`3foi Fig. "1;

`Fig. 4 .is-fa vVerticalsecton on the can `opener in losed fposition lon #a can, 'taken-on `the line Lidi-of Fig. f2;

Fig. F5 *is another vertical section on the can opener,taken=on the-line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a..secton.taken on .the line 6--8 of Fig. 3 showing'themountingofone of the gears onthe cutter wheel.

The can opener includes a1frame Il), .adapted to be supported upon a pivot pin or the like. Near its outer end, this frame has a bearing supportll. I, transversely mounted thereon. 'Below the Ihearing support .there is a ucan fengaging ange I2. .'fBackof thebearin'g.supportlllifthere is 7e. socket `i3 Von .the .frame .I0 .that provdesea slide bearing for `oneend Mfof r=a carrier linember I5.

The hearing support I I contains a driving shaft I8, upon one end of which is mounted a crank I9. This shaft i8 passes through the frame IIJ, and on its back end has mounted a gear 2D. In front of that gear there is mounted a feed Wheel 2|. The edge of this feed Wheel is milled or serrated and is adapted to be disposed under the rim of a can to be opened. It will be under- ,.2 stood that rotation-:ofthe crank LIQ Arotates 5the shaft IS and both 'fthe Lgear 2li .and the feed WheelfZI.

The carrier .i5 has i an :outer end -22 `pivotally mounted ,on an eccentric .23 .supported in the frame i. This eccentric :is .rotated :by Aa handle 2li, shown inzopenvpostiondn Fig. 1 aandin. closed positionzin Fig. .2.

:Ehe carrier 4.5 hase-backwardly handidowm -wardly stamped portion 25, :upon l'which .is mounted a stud shaft Zfhavingy a reducedthrended portion 2i :at its outer lend. It .will loe-seen that ithe .depressed Aportion $.25 dispose's fthe stud shaft 226;'.in :a direction.downwardlylinclined tor; ward `thercenter :of .the can.

'The stud .shaft i525 receives a hub 28 having thereona .cutter disc L29. This cutter-dise has airecess' lthereinlthat extends Iinwardly so that the `leottom foffthe recess may '-he disposed apthe .point Where thereduced portionZI begins. A :holding .nut 3i is fadapted ito .be threaded over the. extensionl'kand .to fit .within thelrecess 39, and :to .holdthe2cutte1.wheelagainst back wardlmovement.

.The hub 28=also.has fan' integral flange thereon, against which a gear 32 lis adapted .to bear. This .Lgear :is urged .into .such bearing 'relation by 'afcoil ispring 33, which permits some axial movement of the `gear 321on1thehub 28.

iAs shown Ain Fig. .6, the hub A28 has opposed flatfsides .35oppos'itelythereon at thefarea where it passes through the gear 32. 4The gear has `a more orilesshour-glassshaped opening 136 therein that Iengages *over the hule "28. VThis Ihourglasss'haped opening 4within the gear permits la limited amount lof lrelative angular movement betweentheigearlSZ and the-:hub 28.

The frame *I5 has -also a `bracket '45 'secured thereto whichhasan upstanding can engaging 'deflector-II thereon. The frame also has ale'dge "4-3 f.behind the "cutting disc that 4is adapted "to overliea-can, as-appearsin Figf2.

"Thef'operation'of 'theiievice is as follows:

"The handle 24 is opened to vthe 'position of Fig. V-1. This 4opening operation, V"through 'the meansof the eccentric, lifts the outer end "of the carrier I5, separates the gear 32 from the gear 28, and separates the cutting disc 29 from the feed Wheel 2|. Thereupon, a can C may be inserted into the space between these two with its rim overlying the top edge of the feed wheel 2l. The side of the can will engage the inner edge of the ledge I2. Then the handle 24 is swung over to closed position, in which process the cutter disc 29 is brought down to penetrate the lid L of the can, as shown in Fig. 5. At the same time, the spacer 4l may engage the rim of the can ahead of the cutter disc 29 and the ledge 43 will overlie the top of the rim of the can behind the cutter wheel. In the opening and closing operation produced through the eccentric, the tongue i4 on the bracket slides in the slot of the frame it provided by the socket i3.

Also, during the operation of closing the handle 24, the gear 32 will be brought down to mesh with the gear 20. Thereafter, when the crank I9 is rotated, the gear 20 will drive the gear 32 and hence the cutter disc 29 at the same time that the feed wheel 2l is rotated. As noted in a co-pending application of this inventor, it is preferable that the peripheral speed of the wheel be slightly slower than and at least no faster than the peripheral speed of the feed wheel. This rotation of the crank arm will move the can C around its axis, feeding the lid against the rotating cutter disc 29. The cutter disc will sever the lid and, by the close contact with the side of the can of one of its faces as shown in Fig. 5, it Will smooth any edge of the lid down against the inner surface of the can.

In bringing the gear 32 into mesh with the gear 20 it is necessary that a tooth on one be presented opposite a space on the other. Sometimes, when the cutter disc is introduced into the can top, it will meet sufficient friction to prevent it from rotating. If the cutter disc should be thus held in an angular position wherein the gear 32 is caused to present a tooth against a tooth on the gear 20, mesh would be impossible but for the fact that there is a lost motion of limited extent between the gear 32 and the cutter disc 29. This lost motion is provided by the hourglass shaped opening 36 in the gear 32. sequently, as the two gears approach, they may havesome relative movement to assure mesh, despite the fact that both the feed wheel and the cutter disc are held against rotation.

Furthermora should there be any small obstruction to the intermeshing of the gears, no deleterious effects will occur because the spring 33 will permit a slight axial movement of the gear 32 upwardly along the sloping stud shaft 26. This movement increases the distance between the centers of the gears. Then, as further rotation of the gear 20 is effected, the obstruction will be overcome and the spring 3,3 will throw the gears into full mesh. Y

The foregoing also permits the use of gears that are made of stampings without the necessity of a final high finishing operation of the gears. If the gears have burrs on them, they will nevertheless operate smoothly, because the spring 33 will permit the aforesaid axial movement of the gear 32 which increases the distance between Y centers of the gears without destroying their inter-operation. It has been found that gears with some irregularities on them actually will work quite smoothly for all present purposes with this construction. In the case of the Worst burrs that would occur or the worst obstructions that might get into the gears, such as dirt parti- Concles or the like, no bad results come in the operation, and after a short time these obstructions are completely eliminated by the continued operation of the can opener.

What is claimed is:

1. In a can opener, a first shaft, a rst gear thereon, a can engaging feed means on the first shaft, a second shaft disposed at an angle to the rst shaft, a cutter wheel on the second shaft, a gear on the second shaft having limited rotation relative to the second shaft, means to drive one of said shafts, and means mounting one of said gears for limited axial movement on its shaft to permit increase of the distance between the centers of the gears.

2. In a can opener, a frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, a first gear on the drive shaft, a feed disc on the drive shaft, a bracket movably mounted on the frame, a shaft on the bracket extending downward at an angle toward the drive shaft axis, a hub on the angularly extending shaft, a cutter wheel on the hub to rotate therewith, a ange on the hub, a second gear on the hub mounted for axial movement, a spring urging the gear downward on the hub toward the flange, and means for moving the bracket to bring the gears into mesh.

3. In a can opener, a frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, a first gear on the drive shaft, a feed disc on the drive shaft, a bracket movably mounted on the frame, a shaft on the bracket extending downwardat an angle toward the drive shaft axis, a hub on the angularly extending shaft, a cutter wheel on the hub to rotate therel with, a flange on the hub, a second gear on the hub mounted for axial movement, a spring urging the gear downward on the hub toward the flange, and means for moving the bracket to bring the gears into mesh, said second gear and the hub being shaped to provide limited relative movement between the gear and the hub.

k4. In a can opener, a frame, a drive shaft mounted thereon, a rst gear ,on the drive shaft, a feed disc on the drive shaft, a bracket movably mounted on the frame, a shaft on the bracket extending downward at an angle toward the drive shaft axis, a hub on the angularly extending shaft, a cutter wheel on the hub to rotate therewith, a flange on the hub spaced from said cutter wheel, a second gear on the hub bearing against said flange, and means for moving the bracket to bring the gears into mesh,`said second gear and the hub being shaped to provide limited relative movement between the gear and the hub.

ARTHUR E. NELSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,625,793 Chilton Apr. 26, 1927 2,148,130 Murdock Feb. 21, 1939 2,258,583 Berkman Oct. 14, 1941 2,383,929 Landry Aug. 28, 1945 

